Mystery In The Mountain (cont)
The party left Kindraed, with Iben and Karl scouting ahead, following the mass of tracks left by the raiders. Presently, Iben held up his hand, and pointed out to the others where the raiders had evidently split into two groups. One group led towards the shore, where they disappeared, presumably by boat, while the others (a dozen or so, including one unusually large biped) headed towards the small mountain nearby, the foreboding Alfheim. Iben fought to suppress a shudder of fear as he led the party uphill, past the wards and effigies hung by the roadside by his ancestors to keep the baleful spirits of the mountain at bay. The path had changed little since he'd last braved the journey as a headstrong and impetuous youth. He'd been dismissive of the terrors of the mountain then, accompanied as he was by a pair of similarly adventurous friends. He gritted his teeth as a tear ran down his dirty cheek at the memory – one friend hadn't survived the mountain. Brandr. The sword-thin boy with the beak-like nose, quick to rage and quicker to mirth. Iben swallowed and turned to wave his companions on.
The path quickly became markedly steeper, and several times the tall eladrin, Aengus, had to stoop beneath low-hanging branches hung with jawbones, feathers, painted stones, teeth and other primitive wards. Despite the grim decorations, he felt something akin to a homecoming, and knew then that the Alfheim had ties to the Feywild. He held his tongue as the Kindraeder, Iben, muttered about curses and wicked spirits. That one is half mad, he thought to himself. At least.
The roaring of a waterfall came from further ahead, and again Iben was beset by memories. Here is where Brandr slipped. Iben and Porvaldr had turned when they heard a distant crunch, far below them. Brandr was gone. Peering over the sheer ledge, the boys spied Brandr's broken form lying amongst the sharp stones below. Strange, Iben had thought then, he never even cried out as he fell. He'd never come to Alfheim, not until now. "Cursed, cursed… wicked place…" he muttered.
Finally they came to the cave in the mountain. The gnomish rogue, Karl Il-Tanith, took the lead, inspecting the cave before waving the others on to join him. As they crossed the wet scree, Sigurd the wizard noticed a series of footprints leading towards the back of the cave. Following them, the adventurers came to a tunnel leading deeper into the mountain. They all marvelled in silence at the huge stone that lay beside the tunnel mouth. It was obvious from the marks on the floor and walls that the stone had previously served as a door, keeping the tunnel sealed, though to keep something in or out was impossible to tell. The ranger swayed on his feet at the memories. And here is where we turned back, Iben gulped. Last time.
From within the cave, gruff, alien voices echoed outwards. Two creatures were engaged in a heated discussion, but none of the adventurers could understand them. The two argued a moment longer, until it seemed a decision was reached. An explosion rocked the cave, and the party members exchanged various looks of surprise and shock, but no further explosions seemed to be forthcoming. The brave gnome decided to chance some further investigation, and stepped forwards into the tunnel mouth. The short tunnel immediately opened onto another cave, but this one was a true wonder of nature. Crystalline walls and floor dazzled the eye with endless reflections and refractions, filling the air with every colour imaginable. Stalactites and staligmites shot from floor and ceiling everywhere, framing the waterfall that fell past the opening on the far side of the cave like fangs in a frost giant's maw. Karl motioned again for the others to join him. The room held almost a dozen odd-formed humanoids that could only be beastmen raiders. Another blue-skinned beast, kin to that which they'd fought in the burning boathouse, seemed to draw his fellows' attentions, where it was engaged in a discussion with another beastman in the centre of a dark pool. The other was a tall, armoured creature with dark, beastial features and a white mohican haircut. A wicked-looking double-edged axe was strapped across it's back. Between the two talking figures stood what would have appeared to be a statue, had they adventurers not previously discovered a near-identical oddity in the icy caves of Nine Mothers Gap. The group simultaneously wished that their staunch metallic ally was with them then.
The group watched on in curious silence as the blue-skinned beast, cowed by the mohawked beastman's imposing presence, reached out towards the metallic, statue-like form with a shaking hand.
Karl Il-Tanith, recognising a key moment to act, took advantage of everyone's distraction to strike at the nearest beastman. The lizard-like creature let out a hideous rattling cry as it fell to Karl's cruel dagger, and suddenly all eyes were on the gnome. Iben, Sigurd and Aengus let fly with spells and arrows as the beastial horde screamed their rage at the interruption. Despite the sudden mayhem, Karl saw something odd in the dark pool where the blue-skinned beast and the armoured beastman still argued. Where the blue-skinned beast should have been reflected in the pool's dark, still water, there appeared a slender, robed maiden. As the beast reached for the statue-like object, it's tentative, searching fingers turned into grasping claws as it siezed the statue, hefted it above it's head and threw it through the waterfall. The armoured beastman, enraged by what was evidently an affront to his authority, hastily drew his axe and charged the blue beast. Karl's attention was suddenly and shockingly returned to his present, dire predicament as a beastman's spear found it's way past his guard, hooking him in the side above his belt. With a grunt of effort, his foe heaved the stricken gnome into the air, dumping him on the icy floor. Karl felt the air go out of him, but nevertheless made ready to roll to his feet to continue the fray. Sigurd and Aengus did their best to keep the beastmen back, with waves of arcane energy and lances of crackling eldritch power. After a short time, charred beastial corpses abounded, and the spellslingers had found some breathing room. Meanwhile, Iben the hunter found himself beset by enemies where he fought to keep them from slaying fallen Karl. The man and the gnome fought back to back, Karl's blood-slick knife dropping another lizard-like humanoid as Iben discarded his bow of yew and drew forth two woodsman's axes. Aengus turned from where he'd just laid low one enemy with a green lance of energy to see a beastman charging him from the side, a lear of animal cunning drawn across it's scaled face. Against his better judgement, the eladrin drew forth his gleaming silver longsword, lashing out with a perfectly-timed downward diagonal stroke and giving the creature a second smile, this one vertical, and with scant mirth. As he wiped the fine spray of blood from his eyes, the eladrin glanced across the cavern at the raging battle in the dark pool. The armoured beastman swung his wicked axe in a reckless arc, beheading one of his fellows. Staggering forwards, unbalanced by his attack, the beastman chieftan was struck in the back of the head and killed instantly by a massive club wielded by the blue beast. Breathing hard, the beast then dropped it's own weapon, clutching at the grievous wound it bore in it's chest. The adventurers all cried out in surprise as the few remaining beastmen fled from the cave. With obvious effort, the blue-skinned creature bellowed to no one and everyone, this time in the common tongue: "You are not my friend, nor are you my enemy. There is grave danger! Speak to the instrumentality!"
Aengus, noticing for the first time the odd disparity between the creature's appearance and it's reflection in the water, addressed the beast thusly: "How long can you maintain control?" to which the beast answered "He knows!", pointing cryptically at the bemused gnome, Karl, before keeling over in the shallow water, it's dark blood quickly mingling with that of it's former allies. In the eery silence that followed, all eyes turned to the gnome, and Aengus asked "What did the beast mean, Karl?"
The gnome could only shake his head as he answered wearily, "Signs and portents, milord. Sign and portents…"
Epilogue
The party tended to their wounds and searched the fallen, discovering two items of note upon the body of the apparent chieftan: A rune-engraved suit of metal armour, valuable despite heavy battle damage, and a runic greataxe, which Aengus and Sigurd quickly reveal to be enchanted. Iben claimed the axe as his own, while the armour was taken to be traded or sold in town. The party then found their way to the base of the waterfall to where the warforged had evidently fallen, but recovered only ruined parts, which they nonetheless kept (just in case).
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